Ryan Tubridy
Ryan Tubridy in Bray on his last day of presenting The Tubridy Show (2010).
Born	(1973-05-28) 28 May 1973 (age 39) Dublin, Ireland
Residence	Dublin
Nationality	Irish
Education	Bachelor of Arts (B.A.)
Alma mater	University College Dublin (UCD)
Occupation	Broadcaster, writer
Employer	Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ)
Agent	Noel Kelly[1][2]
Known for	The Full Irish and Tubridy on RTÉ 2fm; The Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1; All Kinds of Everything, Tubridy Tonight and The Late Late Show on RTÉ One
Salary	€366,867 (2007)[3] €533,333 (2008)[3] €519,667 (2009)[4]
Spouse	Anne Marie Power (separated)
Partner	Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin
Children	Ella and Julia[5]
Website
http://www.ryantubridy.ie/

Ryan Tubridy (born 28 May 1973),^[6] affectionately known as "Tubs",^[7][8][9] is an Irish broadcaster and writer, a presenter of live shows on radio and television in Ireland. He has been described as "one of Ireland's most gifted broadcasters"^[10] One of the youngest presenters on the books of Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ),^[11] he is the current host of long-running TV chat programme The Late Late Show and a weekday morning radio show called Tubridy.^[12][13] He was also a pioneering member of the Twitterati before he departed in August 2011.^[14]

Tubridy previously presented RTÉ 2fm breakfast radio show The Full Irish, which at its end was the second most popular^{[citation needed]} radio programme in Ireland. For five seasons from 2004 until 2009, he presented the Saturday night TV chat show Tubridy Tonight on RTÉ One.^[15][16] He later left RTÉ 2fm for a number of years to present weekday morning radio programme The Tubridy Show on RTÉ Radio 1,^[17] but returned to RTÉ 2fm in 2010 to present his current weekday morning radio show from 09:00 to 11:00, following the termination of The Gerry Ryan Show with the presenter's sudden death.^[18][19] He has also hosted the Rose of Tralee contest on two occasions.

More recently, Tubridy has embarked on a career as a writer, having composed JFK in Ireland, a profile of U.S. President John F. Kennedy's 1963 visit to Ireland as part of a two-book deal with HarperCollins.^[20][21] He is currently working on a second book.^[22] Aside from broadcasting and writing, Tubridy's intense passion for U.S. politics is common knowledge,^[21] as, more recently, is a romance with Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin,^[23][24] a romance which has been dubbed "RyBhinn".^[25]

Tubridy has several wins and nominations at the Meteor Awards to his name, dating from his time as host of The Full Irish. The broadcaster was named one of ten "icons" of 21st century Ireland by the Sunday Tribune's Derek O'Connor in 2008.^[26] He was awarded Dubliner of the Year by The Dubliner magazine in 2009.

Early life[link]

Tubridy was born in Blackrock, Dublin, in May 1973, one of five children. His mother is called Catherine.^[5] A maternal uncle was an MEP, while another maternal uncle, David Andrews, was an Irish Government minister. His first cousin is Barry Andrews, a former T.D. and former Minister of State. One of Tubridy's maternal ancestors was revealed on Who Do You Think You Are? to be King Edward III of England, at odds with the Republican background of his family.

Tubridy was educated at Blackrock College^[27] and University College Dublin (UCD), where he studied for his Bachelor of Arts. He was a member of the Kevin Barry Cumann of Fianna Fáil while in UCD and was active in the UCD Students' Union and Belfield FM, as well as the Dún Laoghaire branch of Ógra Fianna Fáil. His brother Garret ran unsuccessfully in the 2009 local elections for Dublin City Council. During the election campaign Ryan was advised not to make public appearances with his brother.^[28] Two of his first cousins, Barry Andrews and Chris Andrews, were formerly Fianna Fáil TDs, with the former being a Minister of State for Children in the coalition government of Brian Cowen. His grandfather, Todd Andrews, was a prominent associate of Fianna Fáil founder Éamon de Valera and held a number of posts in semi-state companies.^{[citation needed]} On the Tubridy side of the family, Ryan is the grandson of TD Seán Tubridy.

One source^[21] says that Tubridy is a nephew of Dorothy (Dot) Tubridy née Lawlor, widow of Captain Michael Tubridy (d.1954).^[29] Michael Tubridy was an international showjumper from Moore Street, Kilrush, Co. Clare.^[30] Dot Tubridy, an anthropologist, has long enjoyed^{[citation needed]} a reputation as 'friend of the Kennedys'.

Radio career[link]

RTÉ[link]

Tubridy started in broadcasting at the age of 12, reviewing books for the RTÉ 2FM show Poporama presented by Ruth Buchanan.^[31] He earned £25 per show. After leaving college he became a runner in RTÉ, initially working on The Gerry Ryan Show as maker of tea and coffee.^[32] Tubridy said at the death of Gerry Ryan that “The moment I set foot in RTÉ, he put his wing around me and said: ‘I like what you do. I like what you are. I’m going to look after you.’�^[1] He credits Ryan for his kindness "in a place which is so full of ego and bizarre resentment".^[32] Tubridy was also influenced by the "nerd made good" style of British broadcaster Chris Evans.^[33]

Later he worked as a reporter for Today with Pat Kenny, as well as occasionally presenting the radio news show Five Seven Live. In the summer of 1999 Tubridy presented Morning Glory on RTÉ Radio 1 and in July 2000 he moved to The Sunday Show. From 2002 until 2005 he presented RTÉ 2fm's morning breakfast show, The Full Irish.^[34] The move to the morning by Head of 2fm John Clarke was seen as risky, with station insiders disapproving and Hot Press publishing a double page editorial with the headline "station in turmoil".^[35] Within one year its ratings had soared and Tubridy was given a major award.^[35] When The Full Irish ended it was the second most popular radio programme in Ireland, after Morning Ireland.^[11] Clarke later described moving Tubridy to the morning as the best decision of his 25-year career in radio.^[35]

In 2006 Tubridy commenced presenting The Tubridy Show, on weekday mornings on RTÉ Radio 1.

He previously wrote a column for the Sunday World in which he expressed amongst other things his support for Barack Obama, "one of his favourite singers" Fionn Regan and the success of Kenny Egan, a silver medal winning boxer at the 2008 Summer Olympics.^[36] He later interviewed Said Obama, the uncle of U.S. President Barack Obama for The Tubridy Show. Tubridy has hinted that he would consider making the move to new pastures if the opportunity arose.^[37]

After the death of Gerry Ryan, Tubridy's friend and colleague, Turbridy was the subject of rumours by various newspapers that he would be succeeding him in the RTÉ 2fm slot, becoming RTÉ's top earner with a salary of €1 million.^[38] On 10 June 2010, RTÉ confirmed that Tubridy would in fact fill that slot from August 2010,^[39] presenting a programme from 09:00 to 11:00. His salary was to remain unchanged.^[40] In an RTÉ press release, he was quoted as saying: "In my new role on RTÉ 2fm I will be presenting a programme that will be very different, with a different time slot, and a different style of presenting."^[41] To allow for presenting The Late Late Show, his show is only 2 two hours long, compared to the 3 hours that Gerry Ryan's show lasted.^[40]

However JNLR figures released in July 2011 reveal Tubridy has lost over 110,000 listeners since the move.^[42]

After finishing The Tubridy Show on 16 July 2010,^[43] he began presenting Tubridy on RTÉ 2fm on 20 August 2010, surprising listeners by starting the programme three days earlier that what was originally scheduled for 23 August.^[44] His first guest on the programme was Bono.^[45] His RTÉ Radio 1 slot was filled by John Murray.^[43] Tubridy became synonymous with declining listenership figures, a 40% collapse of which by 2011 coincided with increased listenership figures for its rival The Ray D'Arcy Show.^[46][47][48]

In May 2011, the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland upheld a complaint against Tubridy who called a paedophile a "monster" and "creature" and then said: "From what I gather these guys cannot be quote unquote cured ... only one way to deal with them, and that's physiological ... these guys should have bits taken off."^[49]

BBC[link]

In July 2010, Tubridy's agent Noel Kelly confirmed that Tubridy was offered by the BBC to present a summer filler for Jonathan Ross's BBC Radio 2 programme. He turned down the offer citing preparations for The Late Late Show and after the death of Gerry Ryan.^[50] However, it was confirmed that Tubridy would present the slot for 8 weeks from 23 July 2011, covering for Ross' replacement, Graham Norton.^[51]

Tubridy sacrificed his Christmas holidays in 2011 to work for the BBC again, this time as a replacement for Ken Bruce on Radio 2.^[52][53] Amid constant media criticism related to declining listenership and viewership figures, he has been receiving support from Chris Evans and has been defended by Vincent Browne.^{[8][54][55][56]}

RTÉ pay-cut controversy[link]

In 2008 Tubridy was the RTÉ presenter on the fourth highest salary, having received a 50 per cent increase in his salary from the previous year.^[3]

Tubridy attracted criticism for his refusal to take a pay-cut in early 2009 even when colleagues such as Pat Kenny and Marian Finucane approved of their own salary cuts.^[57] He was soon the subject of a hate campaign on social networking site Facebook^[58] but later opted to take a 10% pay cut.^[59][60][61] He is not an RTÉ employee, but is a contract employee and pays himself €283,756 a year from his production company, Tuttle Productions.^[62] He admits to not feeling particularly guilty about his €500,000 salary.^[63]

Television career[link]

Tubridy hosted the EsatBT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition at the Royal Dublin Society, in 2003 and 2004. Also in 2003 and 2004, he presented the Rose of Tralee competition.^[64] In 2003 and 2004 he presented a game show called All Kinds of Everything. He presented the RTÉ People in Need Telethon in 2004 and 2007.

In October 2004, Tubridy Tonight began, his own live Saturday night chat show seen as a successor to Kenny Live (formerly Saturday Night Live). Tubridy's colleague Pat Kenny (former presenter of Kenny Live and then host of The Late Late Show) queried Tubridy's fast-paced lifestyle and recommended he slow down.^[65] Tubridy initially announced his intention to take over the hosting of The Late Late Show from Pat Kenny but he later stated that he would remain as host of Tubridy Tonight, describing it as his "Jim'll Fix It job" and "little fun-size legacy".^[66]

It was announced on 11 May 2009 that Tubridy would indeed succeed Pat Kenny as host of The Late Late Show.^[67] He vowed to bring back Gay Byrne's "one for everybody in the audience" catchphrase, described by Will Hanafin in the Irish Independent as an attempt to "dig up more old relics than archaeologists would on an excavation", in reference to Tubridy's passion for history.^[68] Tubridy said he was "very taken aback" to learn he had been selected, describing it as "a humbling honour to be asked to present such an iconic programme".^[69] He described Tubridy Tonight as "quite the odyssey".^[70]

Tubridy's first guest as host of The Late Late Show was then Taoiseach Brian Cowen, with the episode attracting over 1.6 million viewers.^{[71][72][73][74][75]} His role as host allowed him to fulfill a childhood ambition — presenting The Late Late Toy Show — "I know this is the one that I always wanted. I love the fact that children are uncontaminated by the reality of adulthood".^[76] His time as host has also led to clash with his guests, including Gordon Ramsay ("a bit, em, British for my liking"),^[77][78] Louis Walsh (giving Jedward a "hard time" on the aforementioned edition of The Late Late Toy Show),^[79] Sinéad O'Connor (the "crazy performing monkey" incident),^[7][80] and Mia Farrow ("What's the matter with you anyway? Jesus!").^[81] The original host of The Late Late Show, Gay Byrne, was one of Tubridy's guests on the 18 December 2009 edition of the programme.^[82] In May 2011, a former director of television at RTÉ said of the The Late Late Show, “If I was back in charge of RTÉ, you wouldn’t see this utter shite on Friday night�.^[83]

Also in 2009, Tubridy took part in the second series of Who Do You Think You Are? whereupon his relationship to Edward III was unearthed.^[21]

In March 2012, Tubridy made his American television debut during which he discussed his book JFK in Ireland.^[84] His debut was received positively by industry professionals and the millions of Americans who tuned in.^[85]

Writing[link]

For more than €100,000 HarperCollins signed Tubridy as part of a two-book deal.^[20] They wanted an autobiography but he persuaded them otherwise.^[20] Tubridy's first book, the 302-page^[86] long JFK in Ireland, was launched at the Mansion House, Dublin on 27 October 2010.^[87][88] While researching the book, he discovered that Éamon de Valera had part of John F. Kennedy's speech to Dáil Éireann erased from the record after finding its content offensive.^[89] Tubridy is currently working on a second book.^[22]

Tubridy co-wrote the title track, "We Are Where We Are", of Paddy Cullivan's extended play, released in October 2010.^[90] The writer and broadcaster commented: "Paddy is a pal and we would have conversations a lot over a pint of Guinness".^[87] He also sang a song on The Late Late Toy Show in 2010, becoming the first host to do such a thing.^[91]

Philanthropy[link]

Tubridy is a UNICEF ambassador.^[92] His love of reading means he has a special interest in childhood literacy.^[93] He launched a breast cancer initiative in May 2009.^[94] The jumper he wore on his debut as host of The Late Late Toy Show was later auctioned for victims of the 2010 Haiti earthquake on the radio programme Money.^[95][96] The jumper raised €1,050.^[97] On 25 October 2011, Tubridy dressed up for Barnardos as Scarecrow from The Wizard of Oz and broadcast Tubridy from Teresa's House in County Wexford.^[98] On 2 November 2011, he was MC and guest of honour for the launch of the Irish Film Archive Preservation Fund at the Irish Film Institute.^[99] The following month he helped switch on the Christmas lights on Grafton Street.^[100] The jumper he wore on The Late Late Toy Show on 2 December 2011 was donated to the fund for artist Alexandra Trotsenko on the radio programme Liveline.^[101] He has also been associated with the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul Toy Appeal.^[102]

Personal life[link]

Tubridy met his wife, the producer Anne Marie Power at RTÉ in 1997 when he spotted her in a recording studio. He later spoke of the moment they met:

She was going in to make a programme, I was going out. My head turned and my life changed. I pursued her relentlessly. She used to sashay down the corridor and I was quite taken by her. She was very erudite and she made documentaries on flamenco. She was much brighter than I am and continues to be, which isn't that hard really if you dig deep enough, and I asked her out.

The couple had a daughter, Ella, and later married in 2003. Tubridy proposed in the Abbeyglen Hotel (a "favourite haunt" of his) in Clifden, County Galway. The engagement was announced in The Irish Times with the words "Ella Tubridy is delighted to announce the engagement of her parents Ryan and Anne Marie". Tubridy and Power separated in 2006.^[103] They have two children,^[104] Ella and Julia.^[5] He

Whilst host of Tubridy Tonight, the presenter spoke of the public's perception of him:

"I think I am a victim of my own image. I think it's been cultivated by others for me. I live in a very ordinary semi-detached house. People only ever see me on a Saturday night on TV and I'm in a smart suit with a book-lined backdrop so that's what they think - you're Johnny smart suit with a book-lined backdrop."

Referring to the type of woman he would like, Tubridy said:

"I like intelligence, I like a good conversation. I like elegance, I like a girl who is feminine without being vain, I like a little retro in terms of fashion and look and sprinkle it with a little sense of humour. I also love a girl who appreciates darkness. I'm a lot darker than people think - plenty of dark humour."^[106]

Tubridy is/was^[107] involved with Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, a presenter of radio and television.^{[23][108][109][110]} He expressed his dissatisfaction when photos of the couple on a stroll at Powerscourt Waterfall were used by the press and was frustrated by subsequent claims that the photos were a publicity stunt.^[105] He later told the Evening Herald (in the week approaching his début as host of The Late Late Show) that Ní Shúilleabháin was "great support" and had transformed his life.^[24] In 2010 he told the same newspaper she was "my rock" since the death of friend and colleague Gerry Ryan.^[111]

Physical appearance[link]

Tubridy has been subject to commentary about his physical appearance. He describes himself as a "young fogey".^[112] Podge and Rodge, a televised puppet chat show, commented on his "stupid awkward eyes, he reminds me of the undead" and introduced him as "South Dublin on a stick" when he appeared on their TV show.^[113]

In one incident Dermot Whelan, Dave Moore and Siobhan O'Connor of radio station 98FM rewrote the Steps song "Tragedy" to include lyrics which make personal references to Tubridy before playing it on their morning radio show.^[114] The song pokes fun at his famous ears as well as his hairstyle with the line: "His ears stand up like the FA Cup, he sits in his chair chatting with Holy Communion-style hair".^[114] Tubridy himself rang the show to congratulate Dermot, Dave and Siobhan on their achievement of "taking the mick out of him" with a song of "pure ego" that caused him to "burst out laughing when I saw it".^[114] He was less pleased when Gordon Ramsay, appearing as a guest on The Late Late Show, poked fun at his ears and weight; Tubridy later remarked on The Ray D'Arcy Show: "I thought he was a bit, em, British for my liking. I won’t be buying the books [Ramsay was promoting]. In fact, I didn't take the free one".^[77][78]

List of interests[link]

Tubridy supports Liverpool F.C.^[115] His favourite films include The Queen^[116] and Frost/Nixon.^[116] One of his heroes is the British broadcaster Sir David Attenborough; prior to interviewing him on Tubridy Tonight in March 2009, he spoke of how he "grew up watching his nature programmes".^[117] Noted for his passions for such things as lounge music,^[118] US politics (he took time off work to cheer on Barack Obama in the 2008 US presidential election), Inspector Morse box sets (whom he described as "the morose and melancholic opera lover who deals with an inordinate amount of bloodshed in Oxford"), "real turf, the John Hinde donkey post card kind"^[119] and buying out-of-print history books on Amazon.com, Tubridy also found Gerry Ryan humorous.^[115] Appearing on Seoige and O'Shea on 16 April 2008, Tubridy proclaimed his top three books of the previous year as The Road by Cormac McCarthy, Christine Falls by Benjamin Black and Exit Ghost by Philip Roth.^[120] He also likes the fictional character Ross O'Carroll-Kelly.^[121]

Views on the Internet[link]

Tubridy has expressed his disdain of self-described "anonymous cowards on the internet", those who "grab [...] under the shadowy cover of names like Catman or Twenty Rothmans or whatever", and believes Wikipedia, an online encyclopedia project, is "a fact-free bull run for any passing eejit to come along and add whatever fact or fiction they desire and up it goes onto the site". He prefers books instead.^[122]

Tubridy is a former user of Twitter, and, with more than 60,000 followers,^[123] was described by the Irish Independent as "one of Ireland's most famous Twits".^[124] He left the social networking and microblogging service on 9 August 2011, posting a late night farewell to his followers: "Dear Twitter, this is my last tweet. It's been lots of fun but I must leave. No drama, just not enough time. Thanks and take care. #goodbye. The Tubridy Radio Show and Late Late Show will have well attended Twitter accounts as I leave this curious social medium."^[14][125]

Awards[link]

Meteor Awards

Tubridy won the Best Irish DJ category at the 2004 Meteor Awards for his breakfast show, The Full Irish.^[126][127]

TV Now Awards

Tubridy was named Best Male TV Presenter at the TV Now Awards in 2009.^[104]

He collected the award for "Favourite Irish TV Show" from girlfriend Ní Shúilleabháin, won by The Late Late Show at the 2010 awards.^[6]

Other awards

• 2009—Dubliner of the Year Award (1)^[128]

His 19th place finish in the 2009 Remus Uomo 100 Sexiest Irish Men List made headlines when his brother Garrett unexpectedly finished ahead of him in 10th.^[129]

He was named 29th most influential person of 2009 by Village.^[130]

In February 2012, he came fifth in a poll to find Ireland's most desirable Valetines.^[131]

He has been encased in wax and put on public display at a museum on Dublin's College Green.^[132]

Tubridy is among a select number of people with their own Muppet.^[133]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Official website
• Ryan Tubridy's best tweets at Favstar
• Video interview at RTÉ.ie before first edition of The Late Late Show

v t e Ryan Tubridy Radio The Full Irish (2002–2005) The Tubridy Show (2005–2010) Tubridy (2010–present) Television All Kinds of Everything (2003–2004) Rose of Tralee (2003–2004) Tubridy Tonight (2004–2009) Who Do You Think You Are? (2009) The Late Late Show (2009–present) Books JFK in Ireland: Four Days That Changed a President (2010) Related topics Category:Andrews family Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Tubridy Young Fogey